1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to data processing systems and, in particular, to the utilization of data processing systems to produce human readable output. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to printing from a data processing system to a reusable medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional personal data processing systems (e.g., “personal computers” or “PCs”) typically include a monitor that displays output and software applications (such as word processors) that provide for the display of data files containing text and/or graphics. Such applications typically also include print functionality that allows paper documents to be generated from those data files, provided that a printer is connected to the PC.
For example, a typical word processing application utilizes a graphical user interface (GUI) that includes (1) a viewing panel within which a document may be displayed and (2) a toolbar with selectable buttons for invoking commonly used functions. Typically, one of the toolbar buttons represents a print function. When invoked, the print function displays a window within which various print settings (such as number of copies and destination printer) may be altered from default settings. After the settings are altered or not, as desired for a particular print job, an “OK” or “PRINT” button is selected from the print settings window to dispatch the document to the printer. The operating system then detects that a print job has been submitted, determines which printer has been selected, and utilizes a corresponding printer driver to generate print data acceptable to the destination printer. The print data is transmitted to the printer, which converts the print data into an image on paper. Once all of the print data has been successfully processed, the printer transmits an appropriate status signal (i.e., an acknowledgment or is “ACK”) to the operating system, via the printer driver. Further, if the printer runs out of paper before the job is finished, the printer transmits a status signal so indicating to the operating system, via the printer driver.
While people have been utilizing data processing systems to generate paper documents for years, and applications for conventional PCs typically include print functions that are quite simple to activate, printing documents to paper still entails a number of disadvantages. For example, even though a person might only need a document for a few minutes, the paper of a conventional printed document can only be recycled at the expense of significant additional resources. Consequently, utilizing paper to print documents that are needed for only a brief span of time is wasteful. In addition, if a document contains sensitive information, at some point in time it may be deemed necessary to render the document unreadable (e.g., by shredding the document), and this post-printing activity requires additional effort. Also, large documents (such as technical reference manuals, encyclopedias, etc.) can be readily stored in conventional data processing systems but are unwieldy to handle and difficult to transport when reproduced on paper.
One approach to making a document more easily transportable is to utilize a “print to disk” (or “print to file”) function. Such functions may be utilized to store a digital copy of a desired documented on a floppy disk, and the user may transport that disk ease. An essential characteristic of any process that might properly be considered “printing”, however, is that the process generates output that is visible on the output medium without further resort to equipment other than the output medium. But the documents that result from functions like “print to disk” are not visible without further resort to a data processing system, since the output medium (i.e., the floppy disk) is incapable of displaying the data. Therefore, functions like “print to disk” are not actually print functions. Furthermore, few users know how to use functions like “print to disk,” compared to the number of users who know how to use (and have used) standard print functions.
A need therefore exists for a system and a method for printing documents to a medium that can be reused repeatedly, with little or no effort required to prepare the medium for reuse. In addition, it would be beneficial if the system and the method allowed large amounts of information to be transported and viewed with ease. Yet additional advantages would be realized if the system and the method allowed individuals to utilize standard print functions to dispatch documents to the output medium, rather than requiring users to learn how to utilize a new or unfamiliar function for dispatching documents.